A wide-angle image reveals a huge gray smoke cloud from wildfires spreading across the mountain ridges surrounding Spokane, Washington, USA, nearly obscuring the peaks. This highlights the intensity of the wildfires that have been burning continuously since the weekend.
Foreign media released aerial footage taken from a plane, showing a vast gray smoke cloud from the wildfires covering the mountain ridges around Spokane, nearly hiding the peaks. Recently, firefighters have used the cooler weather over the past two days to build containment lines and control the fires across all three burn sites. However, the situation remains worrying as forecasts predict temperatures will rise to nearly 37°C later in the week, combined with dry conditions and strong winds, which could cause the wildfires to flare up more intensely.
The three wildfire sites have already destroyed approximately 850 buildings and forced more than 67,000 people to evacuate since the fires began last weekend. Although no deaths have been reported, officials are continuing to assess the damage because they have not yet been able to fully evaluate how many homes have been burned or damaged.
Authorities have permitted some evacuees to gradually return to their homes, though exact numbers have not been disclosed. Meanwhile, many others remain housed in shelters at Spokane’s convention center, hotels, rental homes, or with relatives and friends. Numerous evacuees remain uncertain about when they can return home and the extent of damage to their properties.
Earlier, officials revealed that the wildfire at the "Old Trails" site was caused by arson, with police having arrested and charged a suspect. The other two fire sites, "Autumn Lane" and "Fairview," are also believed to have human causes, though not necessarily intentional, and investigations are ongoing.
Source: AP
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